Credit: The Associated Press

In this Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, file photo, U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, Jamesa Euler, delivers mail, in Atlanta. The financially struggling Postal Service is seeking a 3-cent increase in the cost of mailing a letter, bringing the price of a first-class stamp to 49 cents. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

WASHINGTON — Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said Thursday the Postal Service had no choice but to ask for an emergency rate hike given the agency's dire finances.

One day after his cash-strapped agency proposed raising the first-class stamp price to 49 cents, Donohoe urged swift action by Congress to overhaul the Postal Service and fix its finances.

The post office expects to lose $6 billion this year. It wants to raise stamp prices by 3 cents next year. The request must be approved by the independent Postal Regulatory Commission.